At the end of March we attended our second Chicago Rush home game of the season.  This time around in Arena Football action it was against the recently-revived San Jose SaberCats, a team that was part of the "old" AFL.

Clark enjoys his first game

As a fun change of pace, we were joined not only by my parents, but also one of the partners at the counseling practice Amy works at, Dr. Clark Barshinger.

Welcome San Jose back to the AFL

He was curious about Arena Football and wanted to find out what it was all about, so he asked her if he could join us for a game sometime.

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Last Friday, Amy & I, along with my parents, attended the home opener of the Chicago Rush.  Yes, Arena Football season is back.

Did you see us on TV?

We attended only a few games last season, which marked the return of the AFL after the 2009 season was cancelled.  Needless to say, 2010 was a mess, in my mind, regarding the Chicago Rush, who are under different ownership with this rebooted AFL.

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A few weeks back, Amy & I were joined by my parents for another Chicago Rush home game. This time the Arena Football action featured the Rush taking on the Iowa Barnstormers, one of the teams that were "promoted" from af2 into the relaunched AFL that we have this year.

Amy, Mom, and Dad

It was also Armed Forces Day, with each of the four branches being represented, along with a huge American flag unveiled at the beginning of the game. Halftime consisted of a tug-of-war between the services, and the video monitors played quite a few Army/Navy/Marines/Air Force commercials.

Yup, Armed Forces Night

As we've mentioned in previous recaps from our game experiences this year, they've been less than stellar. I keep hoping that the new league will get their act together and that we're just experiencing the growing pains associated with a year of no games, but so far, I have not been encouraged. This game against Iowa was a perfect example of things getting worse, rather than better.

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A few weeks ago, Amy & I caught a Chicago Rush vs. Utah Blaze game at the Allstate Arena. We were joined at this Arena Football game by my parents, along with two fellow Kidology staff members who were in town for various meetings… my boss Karl Bastian and our Executive Operations Coordinator, Todd McKeever.

Steve, Todd, & Karl

The sound system was way too loud and distorted at times

Let's just say right off the bat that there wasn't much of a football game. At the time, the Rush were undefeated and the Blaze had yet to win a game. And it stayed that way with the Rush winning this game 63-40. So when you have a blowout like that, you tend to poke around and see what else is going in. Continue Reading…

Never thought I'd be writing this again, but…

On Friday, Amy & I attended the home opener for the Chicago Rush. Yes, an Arena Football game! Given that the AFL canceled the 2009 season, it had been 642 days since we last saw the Rush play. What happened with the AFL? Stay tuned for a future blog post where I explain everything in layman's terms, because a lot of friends and family are asking the same thing!

Steve, Amy, and Dad... back at a Rush game

Anyway, this was the second game of the season for the Rush, having come off their opener which they won on the road against the Iowa Barnstormers, 61-43. Given the skeptical approach I had on this reborn version of the Arena Football League, we didn't renew our season tickets. Instead, we're taking a "wait and see" approach and going with the cheap seat approach on a per game basis, just to see how Rush 2.0 works in the greater scheme of things.

It's been a while!

We attended the game with my Dad and sat up in the good 'ole cheap seats of section 214 at Allstate Arena… upper level, east endzone, second row. Tickets were $10 a piece, which were an increase over the $8 that the Rush had been charging for the same seats in 2008. It was odd to step into the routine again after a long hiatus… even though I did attend a few Chicago Slaughter games last season with the "Slush" roster.

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Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a podcast discussion about the Arena Football League. I'll be writing more about the return of the AFL after a year of hiatus, but if you want to hear me babbling about the league, give it a listen.

Audio: Listen to the AFL Roundtable Podcast

This was the first episode of AFL Roundtable, hosted the by folks at ArenaFan.com.

It was facilitated by Tim Capper, Canadian-based staff member of ArenaFan. The show also featured JP Worley, who co-hosts another AFL-based show with Tim, and Henry Primeaux, who helps run AFLFanZone.com.

I'm not sure why I was asked to participate. It's like I've ever had an opinion or anything. I've always been more interested in the business and marketing side of alternative football leagues more than the X's & O's, so my opinions tend to be a bit different than those who are "really into" the indoor football world.

Or maybe it was my interest in the "new" AFL's first national sponsor, Le Vai Alkaline Ionized Water. Yeah, that should make for an interesting beverage review! I'm still waiting on my review sample from the company.